China erases memory of Tiananmen students' hero

Efforts by Chinese dissidents to pay tribute to the Communist Party leader whose death 10 years ago triggered the 1989 democracy movement have been frustrated by the police.

Hu Yaobang, who was ousted from his position two years before the Beijing massacre for being too liberal, is rarely mentioned today in China. His former secretary, Lin Mu, was told by police that it was 'no longer possible' to visit his grave.

Mr Lin said police had initially approved his request but now said that there had been too many articles about Mr Hu's death in the foreign press recently.

Another dissident voice, Fu Shen, was reportedly warned that visiting the grave would 'endanger state security'.

The tomb is located on a barren hill in Boyang in the south-eastern province of Jiangxi and attracts few visitors. It is looked after by the Communist Youth League which has produced several radical leaders, including Mr Hu who was once its general secretary.

Mr Hu had offended the Party old guard by supporting the emerging movement for serious political reform. After being sacked by Deng Xiaoping in 1987, Mr Hu appeared to age prematurely and died of a heart attack on April 15, 1989. The news brought the students into the streets.

The restrictions reflect official concern to quash any activity which might revive memories of the Beijing massacre period. The official line is still that the army intervened against the students in Tiananmen Square to prevent 'disturbances' instigated by 'counter-revolutionaries' who were undermining the 'social order'.

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Premier Zhu Rongji took a less harsh view towards the students, suggesting that their aspirations were genuine although they had broken the law by occupying Tiananmen Square.

Mr Zhu said: 'The episode in 1989 happened because [the students] wanted democracy but they didn't want the rule of law.' This contrasts with the tough view expressed last week by Zhu Muzhi, president of the state-backed Human Rights Organisation.

The army crackdown was needed, he said, to deal with 'flies and mosquitoes' who had infiltrated the country and were seeking to cause 'chaos'.'

Mr Hu was popular among Chinese intellectuals for taking steps to rehabilitate thousands of them who had been labelled as 'Rightists' and had suffered persecution over the previous two decades. Previous anniversaries of his death have been ignored by the media, but recent books by liberal writers have attempted to revive his reputation.

Dai Huang, the author of one book and a victim of the 'anti-Rightist' campaign has said that 'Hu Yaobang died before his time: and too little has been said in his memory'.

Mr Hu was succeeded by Zhao Ziyang who was toppled by hardliners in 1989 for showing sympathy towards the students. Mr Zhao's former secretary, Bao Tong, has recently urged the leadership to restore Mr Hu's reputation.

Mr Bao, who spent seven years in jail after 1989, has been warned by police that his letter to the leadership 'endangers national security' because it was publicised abroad. In the letter Mr Bao called 'using hundreds of thousands of troops [on June 3-4, 1989] to crack down on unarmed students and civilians. . . a shame to humanity'.